tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post4712669832599854989..comments2015-03-02T08:26:06.623-05:00Comments on The Green Weenie: Pellas: Hanny Deal, Future Trades?Ron Ieracinoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-31943765608966812052013-01-01T20:15:25.846-05:002013-01-01T20:15:25.846-05:00I would guess, Will, that it&#39;s because they do...I would guess, Will, that it&#39;s because they don&#39;t have a MLB ready first baseman in the system, so they thought they&#39;d get someone that was rather than overly expose Jones to lefties. He&#39;s cheaper than an FA, and an upgrade over Matt Hogue. Ron Ieracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-55732525307883552242013-01-01T17:48:37.076-05:002013-01-01T17:48:37.076-05:00Okay, but the fact remains that the Pirates acquir...Okay, but the fact remains that the Pirates acquired Sanchez just as he was heading into his arb years--regardless of whether we&#39;re talking Super 2 or Conventional 3. In other words they&#39;ll be in arbitration with him every single season he remains with the team unless they offer him a long term deal that buys out his arb years. That would seem highly unlikely given that he is probably going to be a platoon / bench guy in Pittsburgh. Again, I&#39;m scratching my head over why, exactly, they got THIS guy, and at the time in his career that they got him. It&#39;s not that he&#39;s a terrible player or anything, but if he&#39;s not going to be the starter at first base, why bring in an arb-eligible part timer? Surely there are any number of junkheap righthanded hitting 1B&#39;s in various places. I&#39;m not getting this one, Ron. WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-75791311111906528482013-01-01T11:06:56.189-05:002013-01-01T11:06:56.189-05:00Yes, Will, but as a regular three year arb player....Yes, Will, but as a regular three year arb player. If he had qualified as a Super 2 last year, he would have started arb a year earlier and gotten four years instead, starting last season. As far as team control goes, it makes no diff; he won&#39;t be a FA until 2016 either way. His arb clock just started this year instead of last season.<br /><br />The diff is it keeps his salary down a bit; the Bucs got him in his last season at league minimum, which was probably $1M lower than an arb award would have been. So he&#39;ll start his arb years with a $500K base rather than $1.5M base, making it more affordable over the long haul.Ron Ieracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-71685735819332226892013-01-01T10:49:31.012-05:002013-01-01T10:49:31.012-05:00Okay, so Sanchez is or is not arb eligible this of...Okay, so Sanchez is or is not arb eligible this offseason? WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-6095146890444582012013-01-01T10:05:25.761-05:002013-01-01T10:05:25.761-05:00Actually, the Bucs dodged the bullet with Gaby. Sa...Actually, the Bucs dodged the bullet with Gaby. Sanchez is a regular arb guy; he ended up with three years and five days service time. If the trade would have been delayed by a week, he would have been a Super 2.Ron Ieracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-4540409062719888442013-01-01T07:09:56.174-05:002013-01-01T07:09:56.174-05:00Ron took the bullet for me, Anon, but obviously th...Ron took the bullet for me, Anon, but obviously those were my errors. Thanks for pointing them out. You have my word: in the future I will review the structure of all trades like this one so I don&#39;t miss the procedural things you rightly pointed out in your comments. <br /><br />Having said that, it is still jarring--at least to me--that Sands never played a game in the Sox&#39; system, much less for the big league club. Particularly when the nominal incumbent at the position was Loney (who will almost certainly be replaced, but still), you&#39;d think they would hang onto Sands even if the Pirates asked for him in exchange for Hanrahan. <br /><br />As for Sanchez, I had no idea he was a Super 2, and thus arb eligible right now. Maybe the Pirates were thinking he wouldn&#39;t have any negotiating leverage coming off his worst season--and he won&#39;t--but getting a guy like this runs counter to the Pirates&#39; plan to control as many players as possible for as long as possible, as cheaply as possible. Add in the fact that he is probably no more than a short-half-of-a-platoon, 300 at bats guy, and his acquisition becomes even more of a head scratcher. Unless the plan all along was to get rid of Garrett Jones, in which case Sanchez, I suppose, becomes the sort-of starter. If Jones is dealt, that would leave Clint Robinson---a 27 year old Triple A lifer just acquired off the junkheap from Kansas City---as the only other lefthanded hitting first baseman in the organization at present who is anywhere close to the majors. (Robinson does, however, have some pretty impressive minor league statistics if you take them in a vacuum, ie, if you leave out the fact that he has been old for his level all through the minors.) <br /><br />Anyway, Sanchez would not be a terrible starter, but he is nothing special, and he struggles against righthanders. That spells &quot;P-L-A-T-O-O-N&quot;, but if Jones is gone, it would presumably mean Robinson getting the lion&#39;s share of at bats, since Robinson hits lefthanded and would face most righthanders. That might work out alright---but dealing Jones, a proven if nothing special big leaguer who has more power than Sanchez, would be risky. It does look like the Pirates have brought in some 1B-OF types in order to replace Jones. That would be the logical conclusion regarding the presence of Robinson, Sands, and Sanchez on the roster all at the same time. WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-52529094832952277172012-12-31T21:39:13.078-05:002012-12-31T21:39:13.078-05:00Anon - thx, you&#39;re right on both counts; my ba...Anon - thx, you&#39;re right on both counts; my bad for butchering the edit. Sands did languish in Albuquerque until the season ended to become eligible as the PTBNL. The way it was written was a bit unclear on that, so we cleaned it up.<br /><br />Sanchez just missed being a Super 2 after 2011 and reached his three years service in 2012. Dunno how I missed that one, but it&#39;s noted in the post now.<br /><br />I&#39;ll try to lay off the eggnog and pay a little more attention in the future; at least that&#39;s my New Year&#39;s resolutionRon Ieracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-1544248297061648542012-12-31T19:42:28.751-05:002012-12-31T19:42:28.751-05:001) Sands was a PTBNL in that trade and didn&#39;t ...1) Sands was a PTBNL in that trade and didn&#39;t become a Red Sox until October, after their seasons were over.<br />2) Sanchez is first-time eligible for arbitration right now. After next season will be his 2nd time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com